3D Fast Spin Echo T2-weighted Contrast for Imaging the Female Cervix

Abstract

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) with đ 2-weighted contrast is the preferred modality for treatment planning and monitoring of cervical cancer. Current clinical protocols image the volume of interest multiple times with two dimensional (2D) đ 2-weighted MRI techniques. It is of interest to replace these multiple 2D acquisitions with a single three dimensional (3D) MRI acquisition to save time. However, at present the image contrast of standard 3D MRI does not distinguish cervical healthy tissue from cancerous tissue. The purpose of this thesis is to better understand the underlying factors that govern the contrast of 3D MRI and exploit this understanding via sequence modifications to improve the contrast. Numerical simulations are developed to predict observed contrast alterations and to propose an improvement. Improvements of image contrast are shown in simulation and with healthy volunteers. Reported results are only preliminary but a promising start to establish definitively 3D MRI for cervical cancer applications.